Rise in bookings helps Expedia surpass growth targets

Expedia has reported a better-than-expected increase in revenue in the last quarter of 2016 helped by a rise in bookings.

Bookings rose 8% to $16.1 billion in the quarter ending December 31, a rise of $1.2 billion.

It was driven mainly by growth in Expedia.com and Hotels.com.

Washington-based Expedia said domestic gross bookings increased 5%, while international gross bookings rose 13%.

The company’s total revenue rose 23% to $2.09 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $2.07 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Its sharing economy arm HomeAway saw revenue increase 30% on last year to $166 million.

Trivago, meanwhile, reached $183 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2016, an increase of 65% year-over-year in a year when it was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.